How Did it all Start ?

Like all of life’s true adventures this one began unexpectedly. About eight months ago I was sitting in my office plowing through the daily deluge of unsolicited e-mails. As I was working down the list with my finger regularly tapping the DELETE key, I happened to notice one unfamiliar message from a sender with the somewhat whimsical name of Grasshopper Adventures. For some reason I withdrew my deadly deletion finger and decided to read the message. I discovered a list of Asian cycling adventures which undoubtedly struck a chord somewhere in my imagination.

I had been harboring a wish to take my Ghost Rider cycling companions on an overseas adventure, but my initial efforts had met with limited interest. As I read the e-mail further, I was particularly attracted to a tour to the rather exotic soundly Tiger Leaping Gorge in the Chinese Himalaya. Although I had never even heard of Tiger Leaping Gorge, I quickly knew that this would be a ride that I would like to do – after all it combined the two great loves of my life (cycling and high mountains).

Within a couple of days, I had learnt a lot more about Tiger Leaping Gorge, including the fact that it is one of the narrowest and deepest gorges on earth. I started to imagine a group of our cyclists riding through the gorge wearing their famous yellow jerseys. Although I was excited about the prospect, I still had the rather daunting proposition of getting at least 10 others to share the adventure with me.

The first step was to notify the members of the Ghost Riders via our regular e-mail newsletter. Almost immediately I had the first keen acceptance, John Green was just as excited as I was and asked me to put his name on the list. Over the next couple of months, the number gradually grew as new participants decided that they would also like to be a part of our Tiger Leaping Gorge Adventure. For some the decision was easy, but for others it was much more difficult. The hardest part of any such challenge is not the physical aspect, but the fear of the unknown, of not knowing exactly what to expect once we arrived in China.

Since the initial dream had been mine, I also carried the added fear that I could be leading the other participants into a disaster of some magnitude. With 4 months to go we exceeded our target group size with 13 riders signed up and ready to go. A new chapter in all of our lives was about to begin.

At the time I did not realise that this adventure would change my life forever.

Now that the adventure is over, you can read about some of our experiences in the pages that follow.Read more